Ripon's only nightclub to close at the end of the year

Dan Windham

Ripon's only nightclub has announced it will close its doors at the end of the year following financial difficulties.

Trix (aka The Matrix) will host its final night on New Year's Eve before it is demolished and redeveloped as residential properties.

The club was due to close in March but was saved following fresh negotiations with the landlord and the launch of an online petition.

However, the nightclub's owner, Chris l'Anson, stressed that no petition would save the nightclub this time around with plans already in place for its redevelopment.

He said: "The club is currently making a loss and the developers have done their demolition survey and will be demolishing it in the new year.

"The fall in numbers has been quite dramatic, you only have to look around the city in the evenings now. It's like a ghost town.

"More people are going to Harrogate because there's more going on. It's not just Ripon, this problem is all over the country in places the size of Ripon.

"Some of the older people may be quite glad to get rid of it but they have short memories. They were young once and you don't want to be sat inside, drinking tea and watching coronation street at that age."

Pick up your copy of the Ripon Gazette on Thursday, October 20 to read the full report.